Column register for calculating



March 19, 1935. H. A. FOOTHORAP 1,

COLUMN REGISTER FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Filed Dec. 31, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 19, 1935. H. A. FOOTHORAP I COLUMN REGISTER FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Filed Dec. 31, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 COLUMN REG! Harry A.

PATENT OFFICE mesne assignments, Fisher Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 31, 1930, Serial No. 505,904

4 Claims.

My invention relates to registers for calculating machines and more particularly to improvements in transfer restoring mechanism for the column registers, so called, of billing machine of commerce.

the Elliott-Fisher The principal object of my invention, generally stated, is to equip a column register of the general type disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 710,802,

(now U. S. Patent No.

1,839,211, issued January 5, 1932), with transfer restoring, or resetting, mechanism of the general character of that disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 505,906, filed of even date herewith, but embodying improved mechanism adapting it for automatic operation under control of the carriage of the Elliott-Fisher machine.

To the accomplishment of the above and other objects of a subordinate nature and presently apparent, a preferred embodiment of my invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, set forth in detail in the following description, and defined in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through a column register, illustrating my novel restoring mechanism in normal position, the transfer mechanism having approached the end of its cycle of movement in one direction;

' Figure 2 is a similar view, illustrating the transtion 1 fer mechanism at the end of its cycle of opera- Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of the column register, illustrating generally the registering mechanism proper, and

Figure 4 is a view in rear elevation.

By way of explanation, it may be stated that in the Elliott-Fisher billing machine, printing mechanism of the class shown in my Patent 1,251,361,

including number keys and a carriage, and actuator mechanism surmounting the latter and embodying a master wheel operated by said number keys through differential mechanism, as shown in my Patent No. 1,576,960, travels past a series of column registers mounted at the rear of the carriage for operation in association with the printing of numbers in different columns, the registers being mounted on a register bar having a fixed relation to the carriage.

Referring now to the drawings, the mechanism of the column register is housed in a casing 1 including a base plate, 2, the latter equipped on its lower face with cooperating clamping members 3 and 4 for clamping the register in position on the register bar (not shown).

One of said mem- Foothorap, Harrisburg, Pa., assignor, by

to Underwood Elliott bers, 4, is operative by the hand screw 5 to clamp the register in proper location, which, as will be understood, may be determined by a locator 6 engaging openings (not shown) in the register bar.

The registering mechanism proper includes the usual series of number wheels '7 and value wheels 8, mounted on the parallel shafts 9 and 10, respectively, in corresponding denominational order, and connected in driving and driven rela- 10 tion in a manner similar to that shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 505,905 filed of even date. For present purposes, it is sufiicient to explain that each number and value wheel 7, and 8 has fast thereto an individual gear, 11 15 and 12, (Fig. 3) respectively, the gears of number and value wheels of corresponding denominational order being connected by an idler gear 13, (Figs. 1 and 3).

The transfer mechanism includes a series of 20 transfer heads 14 pivotally mounted in the rear of the number wheels upon a horizontal shaft 15 for rocking movement thereon in either of two directions from a central, normal position. Mounted in the rear of the transfer heads 14 is a series of individual driving levers 16 of the first order, and preferably of bell-crank form, fulcrumed upon a horizontal shaft 16 to provide substantially vertical and horizontal arms 17 and 18, respectively. 30

Associated transfer heads 14 and driving levers 16 are operatively connected by a link 19 pivoted to the head in the rear of the axis thereof, as at 20, and pivoted, as at 21, intermediate its ends, to the vertical arm 17 of said driving lever at a point intermediate the fulcrum point of the lever and the free end of said arm 17.

Individual motor springs 212 having their opposite ends connected to the horizontal arms 18 of the driving levers 16, and to an anchor bar 22, respectively, urge the vertical arms 17 of said levers in the direction of the axis of the transfer heads 14.

Normally, however, when the heads 14 are in their central positions, the pivot points 20 and 21 are aligned with the axis 15 of the transfer heads 14 forming a toggle lock, which prevents movement of the driving levers 16 under the urge of their springs 212. The carrying devices are held in this set or cocked position by notched detent levers 23 individual thereto and urged by springs 24 against the rollers 25 on the free ends of the respective links 19 of the several toggle-like carrying devices. In transferring operations a widened tooth (not shown) on the appropriate number wheel 7 engages a trip member 26 on the corresponding transfer head 14 and rocks said head in one direction or the other, as the case may be, from its central position to break or flex the toggle-Ike carrying device, whereupon its driving lever 16 is free to move under the urge of its spring 212, towards the axis 15 of the transfer head 14 to rock the head farther in the direction initiated by the number wheel 7. The head, when rocked, turns the adjacent number wheel by one or the other of a pair of combined carrying and stop dogs 27 mounted on the head on opposite sides of the trip member 26, and which need merely be identified in passing. Obviously, movement of the vertical arms 17 of the driving levers 16 away from the axis of the transfer heads 14, will restore the transfer mechanism, regardless of the direction in which said heads have been moved.

Coming now to the transfer restoring mechanism mounted co-axially with the driving levers 16 is a rocking transfer restoring bail 28, including laterally spaced, depending bail arms 29 of substantially the same length as the vertical arms 17 of said driving levers, and a bail rod 30 carried by said arms 29 in position to engage the free ends of the arms 17 projecting beyond the links 19 of the carrying devices. Normally, said transfer restoring bail rod 30 is spaced from the free ends of the arms 17 to avoid interference with the transferring movement of the latter, as indicated in Figure 1.

In a restoring operation, the transfer restoring bail rod 30 is moved towards the tripped driving arms 17 by bail rocking mechanism, as follows. A bail operating yoke 31 is mounted below the bail 28 to rock upon a stationary yoke shaft 32, the yoke including upstanding yoke arms 33 opposed to the bail arms 29 and connected together by a yoke bar 34. At their upper ends, the yoke arms 33 are connected to the bail rod 30 by links 33'. Suitably mounted on the base plate 2 for horizontal sliding movement at right angles to the axis of the yoke shaft 32 and the axis of the restoring bail arms 29, is a transfor restoring slide 35 provided on its upper face with teeth 35 meshing with a suitably mounted idler gear 36. Mounted for free rotation on the yoke shaft 32 is a toothed yoke operating sector 37 meshing with the idler gear 36 and having an arm 37" opposed to the yoke bar 34. A spring 38 having its opposite ends connected to the sector 37 and to a stud 39 on the side plate of the casing 1, urges the sector 37, idler 36, and slide 35, in a direction to project one end of the latter out of the front wall of the casing 1 through a suitable opening 42 therein, and against a stop 41. The restoring slide 35 is moved inwardly, as will be understood, by a suitable device (not shown) on the carriage of the Elliott-Fisher machine when the latter is retracted. In my present invention, the yoke operating sector 37 is designed to impart movement to the yoke 31 and move the transfer restoring bail rod 30 towards the driving arms 17 through a yielding connection between said sector and yoke, including a spring 42 interposed between the arm 37' and the yoke bar 34, opposed studs 43 being provided on the sector and bar for securing the spring in position. By means of this yielding connection, breakage of the transfer-restoring parts is obviated in the event of the transfer mechanism becoming jammed, and the restoring operation is effected without sudden shock and jar. A stud 44 on the sector 37 engaging beneath the yoke 31 insures return of the latter and the transfer restoring bail 28 to their normal positions by the sector 37, under the influence of the return spring 38, as determined by the stop 41. A further distinct advantage is obtained by the provision of the yielding connection between the bail operating mechanism and the carry-restoring mechanism.

As a manufacturing proposition, exact work and fine adjustment would be required to impart to the carry-restoring slide 35, the precise amount of travel necessary to rock the carry-restoring bail rod 30 a suflicient distance to just restore the tripped carrying devices to their set or cooked positions.

The interposition of the spring 42 between the operating slide avoids such requirement it being simply necessary to arrange for an excess travel to the operating slide 35 to transmit sufficient movement to the carry-restoring bail 28 to insure complete operation thereof, and thereby avoid precision adjustment which is both expensive and time consuming.

It is to be understood that right is herein reserved to such changes and modifications of the invention herein disclosed as fall fairly within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is:

1. In a register, the combination with a series of transfer heads movable in either of two directions from a central position, and individual driving levers for said heads and having a single direction of movement to restore said heads to central position after movement of the latter in either direction, of a transfer restoring member operative against all said levers, and hail operating mechanism, including a transfer restoring slide, and a compressible and expansible connection between the transfer-restoring member and slide to afford the slide a farther travel in excess of that required to restore the transfer heads, and relatively to the transfer-restoring member.

2. In a register, in combination, transfer mechanism, including a transfer head operative in either of two directions from a central position, and transfer restoring mechanism, including cooperating members having a single direction of head to central position after movement of the latter in either direction, said restoring mechanism including a toothed slide, a gear meshing with the slide, a gear meshing with the first gear, and a yielding operating connection between the second gear and the cooperating member of the restoring mechanism.

3. A register, comprising in combination, transfer heads movable in either of two directions from a central position, a transfer head restoring bail effective in a single direction of movement to restore said heads to central position, a shaft, restoring bail actuating means pivoted on said shaft and connected to said bail, a gear segment journaled on said shaft, a yieldable driving connection between said bail actuating means and said segment, spring means normally tending to re-- strain said segment against movement in a driving direction, and a slide operatively connected to said segment to move the latter against the action of said spring in a direction to drive said bail actuating means.

4. In a register, the combination with totalizer wheels; and carrying devices tripped by the wheels that required to reset the carrying devices; and relatively to the carry-restoring member means to return the rocking lever and actuator to their normal positions; and means on the lever to insure the return of the carry-restoring member to its normal position.

HARRY A. FOOTHORAP. 

